The number of communities that prohibit large retail stores continues to grow.
In order "to protect residents and visitors from the perils of regional, large format, mega-style commercial development," the town of Nags Head, North Carolina banned stores larger than 50,000 square feet in July.
As we reported in recent issues of this Bulletin, Wal-Mart is lobbying several state legislatures to repeal laws that bar below-cost sales of gasoline. Wal-Mart is installing gas stations in the parking lots of hundreds of its superstores. By selling gas below its wholesale cost, Wal-Mart hopes to draw shoppers into its stores and eliminate independent competitors. The problem is, many states have laws that require retailers to sell gas at a minimum mark-up.
Alex Pryor, owner of Zin Restaurant in Kansas City, has been watching in frustration as the city’s independent restaurants give way to national chains. Although the chains are often outmatched by the independents in terms of quality and service, their considerable resources enable them to gobble up prime locations and to buy market share through extensive advertising. Upscale chain restaurants have also grown increasingly clever at hiding their chain identity and appearing to be unique, locally owned businesses.
By a nearly 2-1 margin, Belfast voters recently endorsed a measure to limit new retail stores to no more than 75,000 square feet. The law will keep Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and other "big box" retailers out of the community.
The Belfast vote is part of a growing nationwide movement. In the last few years alone, more than 100 cities and towns have rejected big box stores.
Home Depot wants to build one of its giant stores with a multiacre parking lot on the corner of Lexington Parkway and University Avenue. The St. Paul City Council has authorized city officials to negotiate a financing package with the Atlanta-based corporation that could include as much as $5 million in tax increment financing (TIF), a form of public subsidy. Once a formal plan is submitted, the City Council will vote on whether to approve the development.
Sprawl-Busters NewsFlash reports that citizens of Belfast, Maine will vote on whether to limit the size of new retail stores on June 12. The referendum is non-binding, but will provide a guide for the City Council. A temporary moratorium on retail development over 50,000 square feet (slightly larger than a football field) has been in place since last summer. The moratorium was enacted in response to Wal-Mart’s effort to build a supercenter on the edge of town.
Last month, Ed Trudeau, co-owner of the Vista Gas Station in Burlington, Wisconsin, drove an 8,500 gallon tanker truck to a competing Citgo Station for a fill-up. Although he managed to pump only 343 gallons before employees cut the flow, Trudeau made his point. The Citgo had been selling gas below cost, a violation of Wisconsin state law.
In late April, the American Booksellers Association (ABA) settled its antitrust case against Barnes & Noble and Borders Books for $4.7 million. The lawsuit charged the two chains with using their market power to bully publishers and wholesalers into providing special discounts and favorable terms that were not made available to independent bookstores.
In February, the Domini Social Equity Fund removed Wal-Mart from its portfolio. The decision to dump the Fund’s 1.2 million shares of Wal-Mart stock was prompted primarily by concerns about the company’s labor and human rights policies abroad.
Domini had initially sought to alter Wal-Mart’s practices through shareholder activism.
Having saturated rural and suburban markets, big box retailers are making an aggressive push into central cities. In many communities, however, they are facing strong neighborhood opposition.
Last year, Home Depot, which has 1,100 outlets worldwide, announced its intention to open a store in the Hollywood neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. The corporation proposed a 4-block, multistory building that would combine a 100,000 square foot store with offices, apartments, small shops, and two levels of above-ground parking.
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